PANAJI
Dozens of students, who marched to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s official Altinho residence to demand his intervention to defer class X and XII board exams in the face of the alarming Covid-19 situation, were detained by the police without any hearing.
The students were demanding of the exams as was done by all other State boards. Among the students were leaders of the Congress affiliated NSUI.
They were driven to the Pernem police station for detention.
Class XII students are scheduled to answer their first paper on Saturday, April 24 according to the schedule set out by the Board.
Around 19,000-odd students have registered and have qualified to write the HSSC examination slated to be conducted by the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBS&HSE) from April 24.
GBS&HSE has also scheduled the class X (SSC) examination from May 13. Over 24,000 students are registered to write the exam.
Opposition Leader Digamber Kamat, hit out at the government for its action against the students protesting for a legit reason.
He said that the detention of the students, who were expressing their concern over the pandemic, was unfair.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Girish Chodankar and Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) State convenor Rahul Mhambre tweeted their support to the students and slammed the government.
Chodankar said in a tweet that students expressing concern over risking life to Covid is not a crime.
Mhambre said he met the arrested students at Pernem police station and ensured they were released after speaking to the police inspector.
Earlier, Mhambre had tweeted: “Students first approached Goa Board Chman who was unwilling to meet. Then they approched CM for defermnt of exams due to spike in covid cases.
CM instead of hearing them calls police & arrests them. From Panaji stud taken to Pedne pol stn. Why is CM so scared to meet students?”
